In roughly 250-pages, we are introduced to a large cast of characters, each of which struggles with the problems of contemporary Egypt. For instance, there is the son of a doorkeeper whose dream is to become a policeman, but due to his poverty is rejected from the police academy, and in frustration joins the Islamic resistance. Then there is the gay editor of a French-language newspaper, whose professional success is tempered by the rampant homophobia all around him. There is the aging playboy who blames Nasser for the downfall of Egypt, his bitter sister who wants to throw him out of his apartment, and the young woman who discovers that all of her male employers want to sexually harass her.
This is fantastic book is noting short of extraordinary and I highly recommend it.
4 1/2 out of 5 stars
